Controlling connectivity of a wireless smart card reader

ABSTRACT

A system includes a wireless-enabled smart card reader able to be connected concurrently to at least two devices and a mobile device able to be connected wirelessly to the smart card reader and to control connections of the smart card reader.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/106,467 filed Apr. 15, 2005, entitled “Controlling Connectivity of a Wireless Smart Card Reader”, which will issue on Jun. 1, 2010 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,726,566, and which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Smart cards are personalized security devices, defined by the ISO7816 standard and its derivatives, as published by the International Organization for Standardization. A smart card may have a form factor of a credit card and may include a semiconductor device. The semiconductor device may include a memory that can be programmed with security information (e.g., a private decryption key, a private signing key, biometrics, etc.) and may include a processor and/or dedicated logic, for example, dedicated decryption logic and/or dedicated signing logic. A smart card may include a connector for powering the semiconductor device and performing serial communication with an external device. Alternatively, smart card functionality may be embedded in a device having a different form factor and different communication protocol, for example a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device.

Access to security information stored on a smart card is controlled by the processor and/or dedicated logic on the smart card. A smart card reader communicates with the processor and/or dedicated logic in order to access the security information stored on the smart card. It may be prudent, therefore, to ensure that access to the smart card reader (with the smart card coupled thereto) is controlled.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate corresponding, analogous or similar elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a system including a wireless-enabled smart card reader and other devices, according to some embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustration of a method to be implemented in the system of FIG. 1, according to some embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a system including a wireless-enabled smart card reader and other devices, according to other embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustration of a method to be implemented in the system of FIG. 3, according to some embodiments of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the smart card reader and mobile device of FIG. 1 or FIG. 3, according to some embodiments of the invention.

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. However it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary system, according to some embodiments of the invention. A system 100 includes a wireless smart card reader 102 and a mobile device 104. Smart card reader 102 and mobile device 104 are able to communicate over a wireless communication link 106. Wireless communication link 106 may be a wireless local area network link or a wireless personal area network link or any other suitable wireless communication link. For example, wireless communications smart card reader 102 and mobile device 104 may be conducted in a manner compatible with the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) for Wireless LAN MAC and Physical layer (PHY) 802.11 a, b, g and n specifications or future related standards, the Bluetooth® standard, the Zigbee™ standard, ultra wideband (UWB) and the like.

A smart card 108 is shown inserted into smart card reader 102. The person whose security information is stored on smart card 108, and is therefore the rightful user of smart card reader 102, may use smart card reader 102 for identification, to unlock mobile device 104, and to digitally sign and/or decrypt messages sent by mobile device 104. Smart card 108 may also include a random number generator.

For example, mobile device 104 may be able to send and receive e-mail messages via an e-mail server (not shown). If, for example, the Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) protocol is used, e-mail messages received at mobile device 104 are encrypted using a symmetric algorithm with a random message key generated by the sender of the e-mail message. The e-mail message also includes the message key, encrypted using the public key of the recipient. Upon receipt of an encrypted e-mail message, mobile device 104 may extract the encrypted message key and send it to smart card reader 102 via communication link 106. Smart card reader 102 may send the encrypted message key to smart card 108, and the decryption engine of smart card 108 may decrypt the encrypted message key using the recipient's private decryption key, which is stored in smart card 108. Smart card reader 102 may retrieve the decrypted message key from smart card 108 and forward it to mobile device 104 via communication link 106 so that mobile device 104 can decrypt the received e-mail message. The smart card 108 may prevent unauthorized use of the recipient's private decryption key by requiring that a password or personal identification number (PIN) be supplied before allowing the decryption operation to proceed.

Similarly, to add a digital signature to an e-mail message being sent by mobile device 104, mobile device 104 may send a hash of the contents of the e-mail message to smart card reader 102 over communication link 106. Smart card reader 102 may pass the hash to smart card 108, which may produce a digital signature from the hash and the sender's private signing key, which is stored in smart card 108. Smart card 108 may then pass the digital signature to smart card reader 102, which may forward it to mobile device 104 via communication link 106 so that mobile device 104 can transmit it along with the e-mail message to the e-mail server. Again, smart card 108 may prevent unauthorized use of the recipient's private signing key by requiring that a password or PIN be supplied before allowing the signing operation to proceed.

The unencrypted message key should be sent securely over communication link 106 from smart card reader 102 to mobile device 104 to prevent a third party from retrieving the message key from communication link 106. Similarly, the hash to be signed should be sent authentically over communication link 106 from smart card reader 102 to mobile device 104 to prevent a third party from modifying the hash and thereby causing smart card 108 to produce a signature using a hash different from the hash of the intended message. Therefore communication link 106 may need to be secured using cryptographic techniques.

The person whose security information is stored on smart card 108 may also wish to digitally sign outgoing e-mail sent from a personal computer (not shown) or to decrypt incoming encrypted e-mail received at the personal computer. This will require the personal computer to communicate with smart card reader 102 in much the same way as mobile device 104 communicates with smart card reader 102 as described above. For this purpose, or for other security-related measures (e.g. to permit the person to unlock the personal computer), the communication link between the personal computer and smart card reader 102 may need to be secured using cryptographic techniques.

Smart card reader 102 may be able to maintain dual wireless connections concurrently, one connection to mobile device 104 and another to the personal computer. However, if an attacker were to steal smart card reader 102, establish a wireless connection between smart card reader 102 and another device, and return smart card reader 102 to its rightful user, then as long as smart card reader 102 is within range of the other device, the attacker would have access to smart card reader 102 and smart card 108 without the rightful user of smart card reader 102 being aware of this. Another possibility is that the attacker, having stolen smart card reader 102, could pair smart card reader 102 with the other device in such a way as to facilitate establishment of a wireless connection between smart card reader 102 and the other device, and then return smart card reader 102 to its rightful user. The pairing may occur in a manner that is not wireless, for example, using a USB cable to connect smart card reader 102 briefly to the other device. Once the pairing is complete, the USB cable may be removed, smart card reader 102 may be returned to its rightful user, and a wireless connection between smart card reader 102 and the other device may exist as long as smart card reader 102 is within range of the other device.

One way to handle this potential security issue is to restrict to one the number of wireless connections that smart card reader 102 can make at any given time. In that case, if an attacker establishes a wireless connection 110 between smart card reader 102 and another device, for example, a personal computer 112 belonging to the attacker, the rightful user of smart card reader 102 will be unable to establish a wireless connection between smart card reader 102 and mobile device 104 and will therefore be aware that something is wrong. At this point, the rightful user could repair mobile device 104 and smart card reader 102, thereby removing the existing wireless connection between smart card reader 102 and the other device. Alternatively, the rightful user may notify an administrator of the problem.

Another way to handle this potential security issue is to control the connectivity of smart card reader 102 via mobile device 104 while still enabling smart card reader 102 to maintain more than one wireless connection at a time.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, mobile device 104 may query smart card reader 102 from time to time about any other wireless connections currently maintained by smart card reader 102 (202). Mobile device 104 may show on its display 114 a notification if the information about other wireless connections changes (204). For example, if a new wireless connection is established between smart card reader 102 and another device, display 114 may show a notification such as “Note: Your Smart Card Reader is now connected with a new device”. The user may then have the option to review current wireless connections maintained by smart card reader 102 and optionally cancel one or more of the connections (206). Canceling a connection may result in the deletion of pairing keys for that connection.

In another example, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, mobile device 104 may enable its user to set, via an input component, for example a keyboard 116, an authorization password for subsequent connections to smart card reader 102 (402). Mobile device 104 could send the authorization password securely over communication link 106 to smart card reader 102 (404), and then all subsequent attempts to connect, either wirelessly or via a wired connection, for example a USB cable, to smart card reader 102 will lead to the user of the device trying to connect to smart card reader 102 being prompted for the authorization password (406). If an attacker steals smart card reader 102 and attempts to establish a connection between smart card reader 102 and another device, the attacker will be required to enter the authorization password at the other device in order for the connection to be established successfully (406).

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of portions of system 100, according to some embodiments of the invention. For clarity, some components of mobile device 104 and smart card reader 102 are not shown in FIG. 5 and are not described explicitly below.

Mobile device 104 includes an antenna 502 and smart card reader 102 includes an antenna 512. A non-exhaustive list of examples for antennae 502 and 512 includes dipole antennae, monopole antennae, multilayer ceramic antennae, planar inverted-F antennae, loop antennae, shot antennae, dual antennae, omnidirectional antenna and any other suitable antennae.

Mobile device 104 also includes a communication interface 504 coupled to antenna 502. Smart card reader 102 includes a communication interface 514 coupled to antenna 512. A non-exhaustive list of examples for standards with which communication interfaces 504 and 514 may be compatible includes 802.11 a, b, g and n and future related standards, the Bluetooth® standard, the Zigbee™ standard and the like.

Mobile device 104 also includes a processor 506 coupled to communication interface 504, to display 114 and to keyboard 116. Mobile device 104 also includes a memory 508, which may be fixed in or removable from mobile device 104. Memory 508 may be coupled to processor 506 or partly embedded in processor 506. Communication interface 504 and processor 506 may be part of the same integrated circuit or in separate integrated circuits. Similarly, processor 506 and memory 508 may be part of the same integrated circuit or in separate integrated circuits.

Smart card reader 102 also includes a processor 516 coupled to communication interface 514. Smart card reader 102 also includes a memory 518, which may be fixed in or removable from smart card reader 102. Memory 518 may be coupled to processor 516 or partly embedded in processor 516. Communication interface 514 and processor 516 may be part of the same integrated circuit or in separate integrated circuits. Similarly, processor 516 and memory 518 may be part of the same integrated circuit or in separate integrated circuits.

A non-exhaustive list of examples for processors 506 and 516 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a reduced instruction set computer (RISC), a complex instruction set computer (CISC) and the like. Furthermore, processors 506 and 516 may be part of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or may be a part of an application specific standard product (ASSP).

A non-exhaustive list of examples for memories 508 and 518 includes any combination of the following:

-   -   a) semiconductor devices such as registers, latches, read only         memory (ROM), mask ROM, electrically erasable programmable read         only memory devices (EEPROM), flash memory devices, non-volatile         random access memory devices (NVRAM), synchronous dynamic random         access memory (SDRAM) devices, RAMBUS dynamic random access         memory (RDRAM) devices, double data rate (DDR) memory devices,         static random access memory (SRAM), universal serial bus (USB)         removable memory, and the like;     -   b) optical devices, such as compact disk read only memory (CD         ROM), and the like; and     -   c) magnetic devices, such as a hard disk, a floppy disk, a         magnetic tape, and the like.

Memory 508 may store executable code 509 which, when executed by processor 506, may cause mobile device 104 to implement relevant portions of any or a combination of the methods of FIGS. 2 and 4.

Memory 518 may store executable code 519 which, when executed by processor 516, may cause smart card reader 102 to implement relevant portions of any or a combination of the methods of FIGS. 2 and 4.

While certain features have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes, and equivalents will now occur to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the fair meaning of the accompanying claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile device comprising: a wireless communication interface through which the mobile device is able to establish a direct wireless connection with a wireless-enabled smart card reader in order for the mobile device to be able to access a smart card that is coupled to the wireless-enabled smart card reader; a processor coupled to the wireless communication interface; and a memory to store executable code which, when executed by the processor while the direct wireless connection exists, controls establishment of direct connections of the wireless-enabled smart card reader to other devices while the direct wireless connection exists.
 2. The mobile device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: an input component coupled to the processor, wherein the executable code, when executed by the processor, receives an authorization password via the input component for the direct connections from the other devices to the wireless-enabled smart card reader and securely transmits the authorization password to the wireless-enabled smart card reader via the direct wireless connection.
 3. The mobile device as claimed in claim 2, wherein at least one of the direct connections is a direct wired connection.
 4. The mobile device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the direct wireless connection between the mobile device and the wireless-enabled smart card reader is a wireless personal area network connection.
 5. A system comprising: a wireless-enabled smart card reader able to be coupled to a smart card; and a mobile device able to establish a direct wireless connection with the wireless-enabled smart card reader in order for the mobile device to be able to access the smart card, wherein the wireless-enabled smart card reader is able to be directly connected contemporaneously to the mobile device and to one or more other devices, wherein the mobile device is able, while the direct wireless connection exists, to control establishment of direct connections of the wireless-enabled smart card reader to other devices while the direct wireless connection exists, wherein the mobile device is able to receive input of an authorization password and is able to securely transmit the authorization password to the wireless-enabled smart card reader via the direct wireless connection, and wherein the wireless-enabled smart card reader is to require the authorization password from one of the other devices in order to successfully establish a direct connection between the one of the other devices and the wireless-enabled smart card reader.
 6. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the direct connection between the one of the other devices and the wireless-enabled smart card reader is a direct wired connection.
 7. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the direct wireless connection between the mobile device and the wireless-enabled smart card reader is a wireless personal area network connection.
 8. A method comprising: establishing, by a mobile device, a direct wireless connection to a wireless-enabled smart card reader in order for the mobile device to be able to access a smart card that is coupled to the wireless-enabled smart card reader; and while the direct wireless connection exists, controlling, by the mobile device, establishment of direct connections of the wireless-enabled smart card reader to other devices while the direct wireless connection exists, wherein controlling establishment of the direct connections comprises: enabling the mobile device to receive input of an authorization password; securely transmitting the authorization password from the mobile device to the wireless-enabled smart card reader over the direct wireless connection; and requiring the wireless-enabled smart card reader to receive the authorization password from one of the other devices in order to successfully establish a direct connection between the one of the other devices and the wireless-enabled smart card reader.
 9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the direct connection between the one of the other devices and the wireless-enabled smart card reader is a direct wired connection.
 10. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the direct wireless connection between the mobile device and the wireless-enabled smart card reader is a wireless personal area network connection. 